Lets dance!

Love it or hate it, disco was an important current in pop culture. The late 1960’s up to the early 1980’s was a musical era where disco ruled the airwaves. Rainbow-colored afros, tight white pants, and slick dance moves on lighted floors may be out of place today, but it was a cutting-edge lifestyle choice for its time. The Bee Gees, Saturday Night Fever, and Studio 54 were all icons of the Disco Revolution.

While some people may not like the musical genre or the lifestyle associated with disco, some people still have nostalgia for the bygone era. Many artists and bands have revived or incorporated the disco sound into their music over the years, and became successful chart-toppers and dance crazes. Disco also has a profound influence on pop culture and other forms of pop music after the disco revolution died down. Many people also like to go retro every once in a while. If you’re up to party like it’s the 1970s all over again, you can hold a disco-themed party for just about any occasion you can think of.

Planning a Disco Party

Like any theme party, disco parties require a lot of careful planning to succeed. You should have a good idea of what to buy and what to prepare for weeks before you hold the party.

Party Budget

Theme parties are a bit on the expensive side, so you need to set a budget for how much you’re willing to spend. You’ll need to consider the following factors when you make your party budget:

• Food is the lifeblood of any party. A good part of your party expenses will go to keeping your guests well-fed and satisfied. As much as possible, don’t skimp on food expenses; if you do need to cut costs, you’re better off preparing party food at home than to have a caterer do it for you. It’s also important to match the theme of your party with the food you’re serving to your guests.
• Equipment rental will also take up a significant fraction of your party budget. If you don’t own your sound system or if you don’t have disco or dance-club equipment stored in your home, you’ll need to allot some money for rented equipment. Many rental shops rent out disco balls, lighting, light rigs, and other equipment by the hour. You don’t need to buy your own equipment for a party that you’ll hold every once in a while.

Disco balls

Disco lights

• Utility bills increase during parties, especially if you’re using a lot of electrical equipment. Set aside extra money for you to cover electric bills during a disco party.
• Party favors are a must in any party. Party favors need not be expensive; you only need mementos that your guests can keep to remind them of that cool disco bash you threw for them.
• Miscellaneous expenses are needed, especially if you’re not sure how much you’re definitely going to spend. It helps to have extra money on hand just in case you need to pay extra for some expenses you didn’t expect when you planned the party.

Invites and Dress Codes

Make sure that your guests are aware that they’re invited to a disco party, and the point is to relive the memories of the disco decade. Tell your guests to come in their best disco-inspired gear. You’ll be surprised how many of your guests will show up dressed up like Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever, or Sandy Olsson from Grease. Be appreciative of your guests’ efforts to live up to the lifestyle and the dress sense of the disco era. You may even find a guest roll into your party wearing roller skates, a pastel-colored polyester suit, and a giant rainbow-colored afro. (Learn how to grow an Afro)

Colored polyester suit

Roller skates

Disco Party Equipment

Compared to other theme parties, you’ll need a lot more equipment for disco-themed parties. You don’t have to remodel your entire home to look like the New York Limelight or Studio 54 to hold a disco party. Here are the equipment you need to make your disco party a smashing success:

Lets rock DJ Wise
• Sound systems are a must, because disco is all about the music. While you can use the sound systems that you already have at home, you can make things even more retro by using boom boxes and turntables. If your vinyl records and eight-track cassette tapes still work, you can use them for your own disco theme party. The sound wouldn’t sound so good, but you can really get a feel for the good times of the 1970s. You can also break out guitars, synthesizers, and even keytars to give your party a real club feel.
• Disco balls and lighting are essential for disco theme parties. You don’t need to buy your own disco ball or lighting rigs for your disco-themed party. You can rent the equipment out from rental shops, or borrow them from friends. If you can afford it, you can rent and assemble your own illuminated dance floor, so everyone will feel like they’re John Travoltas and Olivia Newton-Johns all over again.
• Disco memorabilia are a great way to decorate the venue. Old movie posters, album covers, and other collectible items from the 1970s can be used to decorate the party venue.

Disco Party Food

Part of the fun of disco parties is on the food. You can play around with names of specialty party foods and give them funky disco-related names. Disco parties will involve a lot of dancing, so you need to prepare foods that are light but satisfying. Here are some disco-inspired recipes that you can use for your disco party:

Funkytown Pizza

Yummy pizza!

“Funkytown” by Lipps Inc was a popular disco beat from the 1980s. Decades after the familiar electronica beat first hit the airwaves, it’s still a staple of retro today. To make Funkytown Pizza, follow these steps:

• Take ordinary pizza dough and cover the top with tomato sauce.
• Prepare a batch of toppings that include onions, ground lamb, pineapple chunks, green peppers, and olives.
• To give the pizza that pink funky feel from the Funkytown album, top it with some fatback bacon strips, sausage slices, and thin slices of salami.
• Bake the pizza at a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is crisp and the toppings are fully cooked.

Nights on Broadway Nachos

Crunchy Nachos

In 1975, the Bee Gees produced and performed the chart-topping hit “Nights on Broadway.” You can make a terrific bunch of nachos named after this dance hit with these simple steps:

• Grate some Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and pimento cheese. Mix the grated cheeses with a small amount of water or buttermilk, and melt them over a double boiler. Keep the molten mixture of cheese hot once it has melted.
• Open up a can of bean-based vegetarian chili, and heat it through in a saucepan.
• Heat through some tortillas or nacho chips and place them on a microwave-safe ceramic bowl. Pour the cheese mixture on top, and add the chili. Sprinkle some bits of garlic chives and fried or toasted garlic. Serve and enjoy.

Mighty Real Corn Dogs

Sylvester James was one of the most popular vocalists of the disco era, with his 1978 dance floor favorite “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real).” Here’s a take on corn dogs that can add some added zing into your party:

• Fry, boil, or steam a batch of hot dogs or chicken sausages. You can also use bite-sized cocktail wieners.
• Prepare a light batter out of cornmeal, soda water, flour, and buttermilk. To add some extra bite to the corn dog, add a handful of shredded potatoes, paprika, cayenne pepper, curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Stick the hot dogs or sausages into skewers, and dip them in the batter. Deep-fry them in hot oil until golden brown.
• More tips on how to make a crispy corn dog.

Delicious corn dogs

Hottie Hotdogs

Copacabana Cocktails

Barry Manilow has been in the music industry for a long time. His 1978 hit, “Copacabana,” is still a mainstay for many dance clubs around the world. To make the coolest cocktail worth the hottest part north of Havana, mix the following in a shaker:

• 1 1/2 ounces of Brazilian cachaça (a liqueur made from fermented sugarcane syrup)
• 3/4 of an ounce of chocolate syrup
• One ounce of apple juice
• One and a half ounces of papaya juice
• 3/4 of an ounce of light cream
• 3/4 of an ounce of pineapple juice with crushed pineapple bits

Disco Beats

Disco is all about dance, fun, and total locomotion. There’s no shortage of games and activities you can enjoy in disco-themed parties. You can dance or even sing along to many of the chart-busting hits at the golden age of the disco revolution. If you’re stumped or at a loss about what music you should play at your party, here is a list of songs that are a must for any disco-themed party:

ABBA Collection

The Trammps Collection

Village People Collection

• ABBA, “Dancing Queen”
• Alicia Bridges, “I Love The Nightlife”
• Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, “(I’ve Had the) Time of My Life”
• Donna Summer, “Hot Stuff”
• Earth, Wind, and Fire, “Boogie Wonderland”
• Hues Corporation, “Rock the Boat”
• KC and the Sunshine Band, “Get Down Tonight”
• The Trammps, “Disco Inferno”
• Urszula Dudziak, “Papaya”
• Village People, “I Am What I Am”

Disco Party Favors

To end the party, you should give away party favors to your guests to show how much you appreciate their presence, and their efforts to make your party a smashing success.

The best and most affordable party favor to give away after a disco-themed party is an audio CD of the best hits of the disco era. CDs are easy to make and are even easier to give away, provided that you use legal downloads and that you have enough CDs to go around. Pack the CDs in jewel cases with a customized inner leaf, reminding them of the coolest party to rock the casbah in a long time.

Check this out a 70’s and 80’s Disco Music Dance.

It’s a disco night, and your guests won’t stop ’till they get enough. Whether they were born to the sounds of jive talkin’ or are still stayin’ alive despite the end of the disco era, your guests would know that thanks to your disco party, the sun won’t rise to stop the beat just yet.

Watch this movie and make a move!